Soulmates ✓

27 | Soulmates (Content Advisory)

"You're breathtaking." He doesn't move, but his steady eye contact on the mirror and his heated breathing against her exposed neck are all it takes to make her breathless.

"How did you know teal is my favorite color?" Shay drags a hand through her hair and gives him a small smile.

He places his chin on her shoulder and wraps his arms around her waist, still looking at her through the mirror. "I've memorized every little detail about you. You never have to doubt how much I'm invested in us."

She shags against his body with her back resting on his chest, and Shay can feel his heartbeat, her favorite rhythm. It feels like a lifetime to have this kind of connection, almost like their souls are bound together.

She is learning acceptance at its best. Acceptance that this moment is momentary, that no matter how much she wants to hold on to nothing can pause the sand in the hourglass. So, all she can do is live while she still can and enjoy the moment at hand while it lasts. Shay's accepting the loss. She's okay with the pain and working through their imperfections. After all, they are mortals, not gods or invincible. But she is ready to embrace the risks and grief because it's worth it if it means a future with him. No matter how small their happily ever after will be.

"I'm invested in us, too. Can you feel it?" Shay takes his hand and places it over her heart, pinning him full force with her determined gaze. She might have been unsure about falling in love again, but she has no doubt, now that she has already fallen into this man with a grumpy exterior and sad eyes.

He flattens his palm over her heart, counting each beat, and closes his eyes. Shay does the same. She has no idea how many heartbeats they sync together, but she feels happy. Because right at this moment, they are together and alive. It's a gift you never give away.

"I feel it, Shay. I feel us with every beat of my heart." He presses a chaste kiss on top of her head.

She leans back and tilts her head to peer up into his ink-black eyes. "I never thought I could feel it again, the butterflies, the fuzziness in my heart and so very alive. Tell me it's not a dream."

"It's real, Shay. I'm not letting you go, ever." He twists her in place, her palms flat on his chest, caressing the soft fabric of his crisp white button-up, and savors the rhythmic pound of his heart. "You make me the happiest person alive, and I won't trade this feeling with anything else."

"Ain't we getting late for the party?" Shay smiles and strokes the trimmed hair on his nape, marveling at the soft texture.

"Everything else can wait but not what I need to tell you." Ryan leans back to stare at her face, curving his lips in a smile, a rare one. He places a thumb under her chin and tilts her head enough to gaze at her mouth. "I love you, Shay."

Her breath hitches and Shay blinks up at his calm face. He can not just say things like that and pretend to be normal. Shay tightens her arms around him, burying her face in his neck.

"I can't believe you said that as if-"

"As if?" Ryan trails his finger over her cheek and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"As if you've been living this love for ages. It isn't something you've just realized."

"That's because I feel exactly like that."

He bends down to capture her mouth in a passionate kiss. Every trembling brush of their lips carries an unspoken promise to be each other's happy song when days are black, and their hearts are blue. The mingling taste of their tongues shares the secrets, which they might otherwise not be able to let out, but they know it's something they are too weak to confess. Each breathless sound at the back of their throat tells a tale of promises and vows that this thing between them is worth fighting.